In electronic device modeling, images of a target object are captured and reproduced on the device's display in a three-dimensional (3-D) format. For example, “avatars” which resemble an end-user's face are often superimposed on 3-D video game characters. However, existing techniques for capturing images detailed enough to be used in such 3-D applications are financially expensive (due to the need for hardware, such as scanners), and are not user-friendly (because they require extensive interaction with the end-user).